Amazon sells over 12 million products on its online marketplace, and while some of these items are clearly brand names or sold by third-party sellers, many of the products are listed as Amazon’s own.
Amazon owns over 100 private label brands, including the extremely popular AmazonBasics, but you might be wondering if Amazon makes its own products.
Does Amazon Manufacture Anything?
Amazon designs, develops, sells, and labels hundreds of products, but they do not technically manufacture anything. Instead, they outsource manufacturing to dozens of companies worldwide. Amazon’s 100 private label brands make up only 3 percent of Amazon’s total sales.
In this article, we are going to discuss the ins and outs of Amazon’s private labels, including who actually manufactures the products, the manufacturing process, and which items are available through Amazon’s own production systems. So keep reading! We have everything you need to know.
What Does Amazon Produce?
It’s important to understand that manufacturing is different from production. While Amazon does not technically manufacture anything themselves, they do produce millions of items.
Here’s how it works: Amazon either designs and develops products, such as their Kindle E-Readers, Echo smart home hubs, and other tech devices, or they simply put their label on items they purchased wholesale from an external manufacturer.
All items within these two categories are considered to be produced by Amazon, and if you’re wondering which kinds of items Amazon produces, we have it right here:
- Smart Home Devices.
- Kindle E-Readers.
- Speakers and Televisions.
- AC Units.
- Mattresses.
- Bedding and Home Decor.
- Kitchen Appliances and Equipment.
- Electronic Accessories.
- Home Improvement Products.
- Office Supplies.
- Children’s Toys.
- Clothing.
- Automotive.
- Beauty and Hygiene Supplies.
Within each of these categories, Amazon has millions of items available at extreme discounts because they produce them themselves.
Where Does Amazon Produce Its Products?
As you now know, there is quite a variety of Amazon-produced products, and they are manufactured all over the world.
Amazon products are mostly produced in China and India, however, you can also find manufacturing plants in Indonesia, Madagascar, Vietnam, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Mexico, Philippines, Malaysia, and many more.
For a long time, no one knew where Amazon produced its private label products, but the company released a 51-page list of suppliers in 2019, which states exactly where each manufacturing plant is located.
Does Amazon Have Manufacturing Plants?
Amazon does not technically have its own manufacturing plants but instead works with hundreds of companies whose plants create Amazon products.
Some of these companies are actually owned by Amazon, so you could say that Amazon does have manufacturing plants, however, none of them have the name Amazon as the company name.
Amazon Manufacturing Process
Even though Amazon does not technically manufacture anything itself, it is highly involved in the manufacturing process.
With hundreds of manufacturing plants in the USA, China, India, and around the world, Amazon’s manufacturing process is fairly simple.
- In order to become an Amazon private label supplier, the manufacturing company must be invited by Amazon; i.e. you cannot simply apply to be an Amazon private label supplier.
- Once a company or location has been hired, it is actually unlikely that Amazon will visit the plant to view the operation.
- Items designed by Amazon, such as their tech devices, require more collaboration with manufacturers and are therefore more connected to the company and are often checked for quality control before being sent to Amazon’s shipping centers.
- Items such as batteries, towels, and other simple products are just labeled with the Amazon private label and shipped directly to their warehouses for distribution.
The process is far from perfect, and unfortunately, it is widely known that Amazon is far less involved than it should be in the manufacturing process.
Within what Amazon does know about its manufacturing plants, they have released very little to the public. In fact, no one knows where their raw materials are sourced, how many products each plant is producing, or even if labor laws are being followed.
Does Amazon Use Child Labor?
Because Amazon is so disassociated with its own manufacturing process, many people worry that their worldwide plants, especially in impoverished countries, are using child labor.
Amazon states in its Supply Chain Standards that as a company, they do not tolerate child labor, but it’s almost impossible to say that it is not occurring somewhere in their hundreds of production plants.
Is Amazon Increasing the Number of Products They Produce?
Although the billions of dollars Amazon makes every year from its private label products may make it seem like a great business model, the conglomerate makes far more money on third-party sellers.
For this reason, not only is Amazon not increasing the number of products they produce, they are actually decreasing them!
With the backlash the company receives from their lack of transparency of their manufacturing plants, as well as the lack of quality control within their private label items, producing their own products is not only bad for their profit margins, it is quite bad for their reputation.
Conclusion
Amazon doesn’t manufacture anything themselves; however, the company owns over 100 private labels which they have manufactured for them in hundreds of plants all over the world. From these manufactured products, Amazon sells $7.5 billion annually compared to total revenue of $232.9 billion.